KWS-3 'VerySANS'

unofficial page of focusing VSANS diffractometer operated by JCNS@MLZ

• KWS-3 is a very small angle neutron scattering (VSANS) diffractometer operated by JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany.
• KWS-3 is historical official name of the instrument. JCNS at MLZ is operating two more KWS-x instruments: two classical pinhole SANS diffractometers KWS-1 and KWS-2. To show that KWS-3 differs from pinhole SANS instruments, KWS-3 obtained the second name 'VerySANS'.
• The principle of this instrument is one-to-one imaging of an entrance aperture onto a 2D position sensitive detector by neutron reflection from a double-focusing toroidal mirror.
• In current state [2021], KWS-3 is covering Q-range between 3·10^-5 and 3·10^-1 Å^-1 and used for the analysis of structures between 20 Å and 20 μm for numerous materials from physics, chemistry, materials science and life science, such as alloys, diluted chemical solutions, hydrogels and membrane systems.
• Within the last few years we have finalized several big “evolutionary” projects; we have completely re-designed and commissioned the main components of the instrument: selector area, mirror positioning system, main sample station at 10m, beam-stop system; implemented new sample stations at 3.5 and 1.3m, second (very-high resolution) detector, polarization and polarization analysis systems; adapted the instrument to almost any existing/requested sample environment like 6-position Peltier furnace (-25°C to 140°C), high-temperature furnace (< 1600°C), cryostats/inserts (>20 mK), liquid pressure cell (<5 kBar/10-80°C), CO₂/CD₄ gas pressure cell (<0.5 kBar/10-80°C), humidity cell/generator (5-95%/10-90°C), magnets (horizontal < 3T, vertical < 2.2T), Bio-logic® multimixer stopped flow (5-80°C), rheometer RSA II (tangential/radial) etc.

• Sample-to-detector distance: 10m, 9.5m, 1.3m (User Mode) and 0.03 to 0.45m (Test Mode)
• Wide Q-range: 4·10⁻⁵ < Q <2.5·10⁻² Å⁻¹ (9.5m & 1.3m, λ=12.8Å, VHRD & HRD)
• Qmin =2·10⁻⁵ Å⁻¹ (#0 SD=10m, λ=30Å)
• Qmax = 0.45 Å⁻¹ (#4 SD=0.05m, λ=12.8Å)